Craig Says What?!

The Random Musings of a Pop Culture Fanatic

APRIL 30, 1977

35 years ago in Baltimore Maryland Superstar Billy Graham pinned Bruno Sammartino  to win the WWWF Heavyweight Championship.

Superstar Billy Graham is the most influential wrestler of his generation.

Hulk Hogan. Jesse Ventura. Scott Steiner. Austin Idol. Ric Flair. Triple H. All at one point admitted to being influenced by, and in the case of Hogan & Ventura COPYING, Superstar Billy Graham.

The First blonde bad guy with muscles & a tan? Superstar.

The First guy to rip his shirt off after entering the ring? Superstar.

First guy with tye-died tights and feather boas? Superstar.

First wrestler to refer to his arms as “pythons”? Superstar.

But the First “First” he should be most remembered for is being the First Heel Personality to win a World Title. I stress the word “Personality” because there were heel wrestlers who were World Champions before Superstar (Nick Bockwinkle, Harley Race), but Superstar, by his own admission, had not a speck of wrestling talent. What Superstar DID have more than any wrestler of his era(save for Dusty Rhodes) was charisma.  He had Color. He had HEAT. He put asses in the seats. And on that Saturday Night in Baltimore he did what heel wrestlers with no wrestling skill and only personality do. He put his feet on the ropes while the ref counted to 3 and stole a victory.

Except this wasn’t just any Victory. It was over Bruno Sammartino. Bruno was Champion for 3 Years straight. And before that he was Champion for 8 Years Straight! (Do you know how unfathomable either of those numbers are today??) So this colorful, muscular big mouth with NO wrestling talent was now the World Heavyweight Champion. In 2012 you can apply that to a number of wrestlers. In 1977 you couldn’t. Heel personalities back then were good for a 3 month feud against the top babyface before getting vanquished and move onto the next territory and the next feud with that top babyface. They weren’t World Champions.

Superstar changed the game for good. He showed not only could a Heel Personality be World Champion, but in Superstar’s case, that heel could thrive. Superstar Billy Graham sold out MSG, The Spectrum, and The Cap Centre (The Top 3 venues in the WWWF at the time) EVERY venue he appeared when he was champion. Graham’s popularity was actually growing with each month he was champion. The powers that be (Vince’s Dad) still saw Superstar as a heel though and felt a babyface as Champion was “Best for Business”. Enter Bob Backlund.

The one thing the WWE ever did right in regards to Superstar Billy Graham was call the DVD of his career “20 Years Too Soon”. Truer words were never spoken. Graham was an innovator waaaay ahead of his time.  ”Cool heels” did not come until the 1990s with the likes of Stone Cold, The Rock, NWO, and today with Brock Lesnar and Daniel Bryan. Promoters know now they can put a belt on a heel and still sell out arenas and draw money. Superstar did it in 1977.

The 10 month World Title reign of Superstar Billy Graham is the Longest Single World Title reign of any Heel in WWE History.

…and it started 35 years ago today.

DICK CLARK died today.

I’ve watched nearly 465,341,749,842 hours of Television.

Half of those were spent watching Dick Clark.

American Bandstand, $10,000- $15,000-$25,000-$50,000 Pyramid, Scattergories, The Miss USA Pageant, The Miss Universe Pageant, TV’s Bloopers & Practical Jokes. Plus I’ve spent more New Year’s Eves with Dick Clark than with anyone else (save my Mom) .

On my way home everyday I pass the Historical Marker at 40th & Market where the Original AMERICAN BANDSTAND  was taped. Throughout the 60′s and 70′s if you wanted to make it in the music biz you had to be on BANDSTAND. Which meant you had to come to Philly …and you had to meet Dick Clark. In fact when the discussion first started as to where The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame should be located, Dick Clark openly lobbied for it to be in Philadelphia! I already loved the guy but that gesture sealed his place in my heart.

I can’t imagine TV without Dick Clark. Thanks to YouTube, TV Land, Nickelodeon, etc. I won’t have to. He was a huge part of my life.

From Puberty to Adultery TV has always been there…and so has Dick Clark.

I’m Saluting you Mr. Clark. Just like you did after every show you signed off from.

Thank you

 

Pat Burrell deserves NOTHING from the Phillies!

On MAY 15th of this Year PAT BURRELL will sign a 1 day Contract with the Phillies so he can retire as a Phillie. He may also be honored or have his number retired.
I for one say WHY? Pat Burrell did absolutely NOTHING to distinguish himself as a Phillie and was a Career Underacheiver.
As a regular listener of 97.5 FM The Fanatic I was so bothered by the “Pro-Pat” calls that I actually called The Mike Missanelli Show (I can’t stand Mike by the way) because he actually agreed with ME!
When I got on the air I mentioned as the Number 1 Pick in all of Baseball Pat Burrell should have at least an All-Star appearance in his 12 yrs with the Phillies. He has NOTHING! No All Star Appearances, No MVPs, No Gold Glove, No Silver Slugger, Zilch! Zero! Bupkus! And some jabronis in this town would actually pick HIM over DONAVAN McNABB?!?!?
I was so enraged that my voice reached Minnie Mouse on Helium standards and I was hung up on before I got a reaction from Mike.
So I whipped out my iPhone, found a quiet place to think and recorded this Video Companion with what I wanted to say in a calm manner
(…Yes it’s a bathroom stall at work! It’s the only place I can whip something out and it still be a quiet place)

R.I.P. Chief Jay Strongbow

I guess it’s fitting that I’m writing this on a Saturday morning. If you’re a Pro Wrestling fan of any age that was the day you first met the men and women you would cheer & boo with fervor. Saturday morning was when I first saw him. Strutting to the ring in all his glory. Beautiful Indian headress with every color of the rainbow represented in all his feathers. It distracted you from the pot belly and less than admirable physique. But I didn’t care.

All I cared about was him breaking out of that nervehold he seemed to always be in. I cared about the war dance that got the fans on their feet and me cheering in my pajamas and I cared about the greatest knee lifts of all time and the power of the Sleeper hold. It’s called a Rear Naked Choke today, but in the hands of Chief Jay Strongbow it was a thing of beauty. Adam Sandler even paid homage to it (and him) in his movie “Big Daddy”!

Being a fan of the Chief also made me grow up quick. In a WWWF Tag Team Title match against the hated Valiant Brothers, the Chief’s tag team partner Spiros Arion turned on him, hit him with a chair and left him bloody on the canvas. As a wrestling fan I witnessed my first heel turn, my first chairshot, and it was the first time I saw blood. The fact that it all happened to my favorite wrestler at the SAME time devastated me.  I felt like Bruce Wayne after seeing his parents shot. How could such a thing happen?! It was also the first time I cried on a Saturday morning.

Chief Jay Strongbow was the first wrestler I cheered for. He was my first “good guy”, like he was for a lot of us. He made me believe in good guys. He made me believe wrestling was real. He made me believe a Full Blooded Italian from PHILADELPHIA named Joe Scarpa was a Proud Native American from Pawhuska Oklahoma named Chief Jay Strongbow. For that I will always be grateful. You made me a wrestling fan for life Chief. You made me believe.

Thank you